Vimarsh on Nation's Strategic Thought: Perspectives from Ancient India

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On September 26, the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organized a Vimarsh on "Nation's Strategic Thought: Perspectives from Ancient India" by Lt. Gen. Ajai Kumar Singh (Retd) PVSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM. He retired from the Indian Army as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command. He was commissioned in 7/11 Gorkha Rifles in 1984. He has served in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu &Kashmir and Manipur. He later commanded 1/11 Gorkha Rifles on the Line of Control. He subsequently commanded a Brigade in Rann of Kutch. He has held key positions in the Indian Army in Staff Appointments, Military Operations and Operational Logistics and Strategic Movement.

Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF, delivered the opening remarks in which he briefly talked about India’s rich tradition in philosophy, statecraft, science, technology and military thinking. India’s thinking and actions are unconsciously influenced by the accumulated ancient wisdom and learnings from the past. Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Bhagvad Gita have deeply influenced our values, thoughts and actions. Being an unbroken civilisation exposed to the world, India has also absorbed influences from across the world. India has contributed significantly to world thought and culture. Dr. Gupta talked about the belief of the western scholars and thinkers that India as a country lacks strategic culture. In recent years, several Indian authors, scholars and historians have taken up the responsibility of writing about Indian history from an Indian perspective, pushed back on western belief, and highlighted India’s strategic thought. India needs to discuss how the rich treasure of norms and values in our ancient thinking can help us navigate the modern world with its turbulence and uncertainty.

Lt. Gen. Ajai Kumar Singh (Retd) started his talk on India’s strategic culture with perspectives from Ancient India with a quote by Swami Vivekananda: “Each nation has a destiny to fulfil, each nation has a message to deliver, and each nation has a mission to accomplish. Therefore, from the very start, we must understand the mission of our own race. The destiny it has to fulfil, the place it has to occupy in the march of nations, the note which it has to contribute to the harmony of races.” Lt. Gen. Singh said that the world needs peace, progress and prosperity, but in the current situation, the world is experiencing conflict, instability, anarchy, poverty, ecological and environmental issues. The current scenario of the world is because of the western strategic culture. On the contrary, when India grows, it is all-inclusive growth. The nations in the neighbourhood and the world also grow with India.

India since ancient times had a concept of a territory with different ethnic groups living within that territory. The ancient scriptures, like the Atharva Veda, composed thousands of years ago, mention terms like Jambudvipa and Bharatvarsh. Jambudvipa was a land of Jamun trees, and Bharatvasrh was a land separated from the rest of the world by the Himalayas on the northern side and the ocean on the southern side. Strabo, an ancient Greek philosopher, mentions India is shaped like a rhomboid bounded by Indus to the west, mountains to the north, and seas on either side of the peninsula. India didn’t have an ethnic concept of a nation like the Europeans. In India, the cultural concept was more important than a political concept.

George Tanham, in a study, wrongly surmised that India lacked strategic thinking, conveniently forgetting about Kautilya’s Arthashastra. As India sets sights to become a developed country by 2047, it is important to assert that India had a strong strategic culture. The contours of India’s strategic culture are shaped by our rich history, diverse culture, ancient civilisation and geographical location. India’s strategic culture is not a monolithic entity but a composite one with different views on politics and society. India always had a society that believed in pluralism and syncretism. This belief in pluralism made India a democratic society much before the western world could develop a script. India’s strategic culture is shaped by the teachings of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is enriched by Arthashastra, Thirukural, Panchatantra and Nitisar. Indian strategic thought has survived the foreign invasions since ancient times and colonial subjugation under the British and is the only surviving ancient civilisation.

India’s ancient knowledge is vast, and there is so much that has been written. Most of the written knowledge is either lost with time or destroyed by imbecile invaders. Yet a lot of India’s ancient knowledge has survived, and it can be broadly classified into Shruti (that which is heard) and Smriti (that which is remembered). The Shruti consist of the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. These four Vedas are further divided into Samhita, Brahman, Aranyak and Upanishad. The Smriti’s consist of the 18 Puranas, Dharma-Shastras, Tantras, Itihasa and the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita etc. In terms of specific texts, Kautilya’s Arthashastra talks about national security, the Bhagvad Gita talks about protecting and preserving Dharma (protecting the motherland), and the Panchatantra talks about the principles of life. Therefore, ancient Indian philosophies provide overall wisdom to handle matters related to personal, national and universal importance. Indian ancient knowledge believed in “Anekantavada,” which is what the world needs in the current situation. Anekantavada keeps away from fanaticism, encourages tolerance and promotes unity in diversity.

Indian ancient texts provide great lessons on administration and statecraft. In the Ramayana, the benchmark of good governance is set (Ram Rajya). In the Ayodhya Kand, Rama teaches Bharata, his younger brother, that a king subjugates his own interests to pursue his responsibility towards his subjects. In Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, Bhishma Pitamah shared valuable insights on able administration, statecraft and strategy. In southern India, Thirukural couplets state that people regard the King as God because of his just rule and the security that he provides. Manusmriti provides a prescription on statecraft, administration and national security. In Vishnusmriti, which comprises the conversations between Lord Vishnu and Goddess Bhoomi Devi, we can find the ways to deal with our allies, enemies and neutral neighbours. It also elucidates how a state should be organised.

Lt. Gen. Singh concluded his talk by quoting a stanza from Kautilya’s Arthashastra: “When in decline as compared to the enemy, he should make peace. When prospering, he should make war. When he thinks the enemy is not able to do harm, he should stay quiet. When possessed of a preponderance of excellent qualities, he should march. Depleted in power, he should seek shelter. In a work that can be achieved with the help of an associate, he should resort to a dual policy.”

The session was then open for discussion, followed by closing remarks by Dr Arvind Gupta.